Collapsible tube.



P. VAN CLEEF.

GOLLAPSIBLE TUBE. APPLIGATION FILED 111515,18, 1914.

l,l25,7?3 Patented Jan.19, 1915.

@ 1@ @leef `nntp.

BAUL VAN CLEEF, 0F CHICAGO,l ILLINOIS.

coLLAPsIBLE'ruBn nieuwe.

Specification of Letters Patent.`

.application mee February 1s, une. serial no. eiaave.

Acertain improvements in collapsible tubes.

The main object of the invention is tel reinforce or stien` or strengthen the lower end of the tube toenable the same to with- 'made from seamless tubing-that is, a tub# ing which is not seamed along its side,ibut those novel features are not limited to such a use, nor to a combination with only such a form of tube.

The collapsible tubes to which the disclosures of the present invention are particularly applicable have one end closed byl bending the metal back on itself one or more times to produce a fold constituting what is hereinafter termed the closed end. When a hydrostatic pressure is developed in such a tube to expel the contents through its delivery end, a tendency also arises-.-for this pressure to unfold the end portion, and therefore when `subject to an excess'of pressure such tubes are liable to` open or unfold at their closed ends. Themain object of the present invention is to reinforce or strengthen this closed end by crimping or corrugating the folds of the metal so as to impart thereto a greater stiffness inthe direction in which the unfolding pressure is exerted. At the same time another object is to improve the appearance of this closed'end of the tube by means of this crimping, thereby obtaining an additional beneficial result.

Other objects and uses will appear from' a detailed description of the invention, which consists-in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing-Figure 1 shows a sidey view of a complete tube looking toward the front of the folded portion, this portion being provided with one form of crimp; Fig. 2 shows a section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is a view looking toward the front of the lower portion of the fold of the vtube `provided with a modified form 4of crimp; Fig. 4 is a section taken on theline 4-4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a side view of the folded portion of a tube provided with another modification of crimp; Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the tube shown in Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The tube illustrated in the drawing is made up from a continuous seamless metallic body 8, which has its lower end 9 folded or bent over a desired number of times to provide an effective closure therefor. One form of this fold is shown in Fig. 7, wherein a complete double fold is illustrated. In

providing this folded closure the metal of the tube body lis tapered down from both sides as at 10, with the result that the bottom or closed end of the tube is comparatively flat, as best shown in Fig. 7.

When the material contained within the tube is to be expelled the cap 11 is `removed from the delivery end, and the body portion is squeezed to create the desired hydrostatic pressure. This pressure is exerted umformly on all equal areas of the containing vessel, including the bottom portion 10, being exerted at right angles to the surface at every point. Inasmuch as the bottom or closed end of the tube is not perfectly flat, it follows that there will bea tendency for the portions 12 and 13 df the bottom of the tube to ush awayl from each other on account the fact that they lie at an angle to each other. There will also be a tendency for the liquid or other plastic contents to work its way down and into the crack or seam 14 along the inner edge of the fold. This latter action will be augmented or enhanced'by the tendency for the portions 12 Patenten aan. ae, fait.

' on the lower edge 17 of the fold, tending to straighten out and 'open up the portion 18 in a manner well understood and appreciated by those familiar with the art.

From thed foregoing statements it will readily appear that the tendency to open up or destroy the sealing action of the fold 1s rapidly augmented or increased when such action has once been allowed Y to commence by any spreading apart or opening up, however small, of the portions 15 and 16. Therefore it is desirable to obviate or prevent this initial opening or spreading action as much as possible, to thereby prevent the cumulative evils which follow upon the commencement of the opening action.

For preventingthe unfolding action as above explained, I have provided crimps or corrugations in the folded portion of the tube, which crimps or corrugations Vare formed in a direction most advantageous for resisting the opening action. These crimps lie in the direction ofthe length of the tube and extend across the folded portion thereof. vThree different forms of crimp are illustrated in the several figures, but it will be seen that in each case they extend across the width of the-fold itself and lie parallel to the general direction or length of the tube. Each one of the crimps virtually constitutes a narrow channel or corrugation in the material, and it is well understood that such a channel or corrugation serves materially to increase the resistance to bending about a line or axis running across the channel. It therefore follows that these crimps or corrugations serve to materially reinforce orl strengthen the folded closed end of the tube. As shown particularly in Figs. 2, 4: and 6, the crimps are preferably formed through the entire thick.- ness of the folded portion, although there may be cases where it will not be necessary to crimp all the layers of the material constituting the fold.

The above mentioned strengthening or stiffening actiony which is obtained 1n a channel or other like section is particularly efficient when a sheet of metal or the like is folded back upon itself, and a crimp is then formed at right angles to such fold, because in such case the very act of unfolding the two portions of the sheet away from each other will of necessity involve a straightening out and thus a destruction or elimination of the crimp immediately adjacent to the edge along which the sheet was originally folded. That such an enhanced reinforcement will obtain positively may be readily appreciated from an examination of Figs. 1, 3 and 5, wherein it is seen that the crimps or corrugations 19 extend clear down to the lower edge 20 of the folded portion of the tube. It therefore follows in order that the liquid or plastic contents within the tube may commence the aforementioned spreading action resulting in a separation of the portions 15 and 16, that the lower portions of the crimps will have to be completely distorted and destroyed. The crimps serve materially, therefore, to prevent the opening Vup or spreading along the crack or seam 14, as well as to reinforce the folded portion even should such a crack be opened up.

The main distinction between the forms of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as compared to that shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is that in the 'former case the concave side of the crimp lies on the front side of the fold, whereas in the latter case the convex side of the crimp lies on the front side of the fold. Also, the arrangement shown in Figs. 5 and 6 differs from the two arrangements just mentioned chiefly in the fact that a large number of crimps is uniformlyv spaced throughout the entire length of the folded portion, whereas inthe former cases only two crimps are illustrated, a wholly different ornamental effect being thereby produced.`

It will be seen from the foregoing that there is a peculiar or distinctive relationship between the formation or construction of the bottom portion of the tube and the crimp or corrugations which are formed in the folded portion thereof, inasmuch as the tendency for the seam to open in the first place is augmented by the fact that the portions 12 and 13 lie at an angle to each other. Nevertheless, I do not limit certain features of the present invention to a use or construction in which the bottom portion of the tube is prc vided with the angularly placed portions 12 and 13, except as I may do so in the claims, but I include within the scope of my invention any other equivalent forms or construction of a collapsible tube.

I claim l1. As a new article of manufacture, a collapsible tube formed from a section of tubing having 'its lower portion drawn together to provide a pair of oppositely disposed substantially fiat bottom portions lying at an angle to each other, and having the extremity of such portion folded one or more times, all of said folded portion lying below lapsible tube formed from a section of tubing having its lowerportion drawn together and folded one or more times, and having a plurality of crimps or corrugations formed through al1 of the thicknesses of such fold l@ and across the width of the fold.

' PAUL VAN CLEEF.

Witnesses: THOMAS A. BANNING, Jr. FRANCES M. FROST. 

